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Nanette & Marissa

Two showbiz heavyweights share their diet tips

Nanette Inventor and Marissa Sanchez, two known biggies in the entertainment business, reveal there are no shortcuts to losing weight. They say taking the long-term approach to weight loss is wiser because you are more likely to keep the pounds off when you lose them slowly and steadily. Sticking to a healthy diet combined with regular exercise has worked for Nanette and Marissa.

Here’s how they do it.

I don’t see being huge is a disadvantage,” says Nanette, who makes her huge frame her stock-intrade. Her obesity didn’t bother her as a person, either. But the serious signal to diet came two years ago, when she was diagnosed as diabetic.

“I had this thirsty feeling that wouldn’t go away,” relates Nanette. “I urinated a lot and was experiencing blurred vision every now and then. I saw my doctor and after some tests he told me I had become a diabetic.

Thanks to dieting and medication, Nanette is now 30 pounds lighter. Nanette has been overweight since she was a young girl. “It is in my genes,” she says. “And being a hearty eater, didn’t help. I was a carboloader binging on rice, noodles and pastas.”

Nanette goes heavy on vegetables and easy on meat. Breakfast is usually black coffee or with special sweetener. Her version of a “queen-size” lunch consists of a cup of rice with plenty of vegetables—“as much as I can take.”

Dinner is half a cup of rice, also with lots of greens. She eats meat only twice a month, mostly on Sundays, when her family gathers together. When she dines out, she typically starts with a bowl of salad with vinaigrette or Italian dressing.

She seldom takes snacks, and when she does she allows herself just half a sandwich or a cup of noodles. Soda is something she cannot do without because she loves it.

“One glass or can of diet soda a day is my limit, and I load up on water,” she says. “It is a good body cleansing agent and skin moisturizer.” Nanette knows full well that sticking to the diet entails discipline. And people need to do it, especially after 30 years of age when metabolism slows down.

In addition to the regimen, Nanette goes to the gym in the morning for an hour of aerotaebo, some weight lifting, and a few minutes on the treadmill.

With fitness high on her agenda, Nanette is better able to sustain a surging career. “To stay on top, you have to keep on reinventing yourself. You cannot be complacent.”

Nanette is busy these days doing shows for corporate clients and performing abroad for overseas contract workers. “I help keep them fit by making them laugh,” she says. “You can be mentally fit by making people laugh and laughing at yourself at the same time.”

Marissa's Story

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